Pay-As-You-Go, Mobile County's Flagship Transportation Improvement Program on the Nov. 5 Ballot as Special County Election
Posted on: Oct 1st, 2024 | News and Announcementsfeatured newsPress Releases
MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. – For the 20th time, Mobile County’s flagship road and bridge program is up for voter approval on the Nov. 5, 2024, General Election ballot with 36 projects that will improve 77.1 miles of roadways and two bridges throughout Mobile County.
The 2024 Pay-As-You-Go Transportation Improvement Program (PAYG) is the last item on the Mobile County ballot entitled Special County Election. It proposes committing $82 million to Mobile County roads and bridges. The 2024 PAYG also incorporates federal and state funding matches of $22 million.
Through the 2024 PAYG, voters would dedicate funds to road and bridge projects like:
- widening existing road sections to five or more lanes along parts of Cottage Hill Road and McFarland Road
- resurfacing multiple roads in rural areas and within Mobile County municipalities, including sections of Kali Oka Road, Hillcrest Road, Azalea Road, and Whistler Street.
- a new bridge on Jeff Hamilton Road over Deakle Creek.
- a new road and bridge to the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley
- a new roundabout at Fowl River Road and SR 193.
There is at least one 2024 PAYG project in each of Mobile County’s 11 municipalities. CLICK HERE for the full 2024 Pay-As-You-Go Transportation Improvement Program.
Mobile County voters have approved PAYG each of the 19 times it has appeared on a ballot. Voter support is needed once again to continue this key infrastructure program. The proposed road and bridge improvements will enable Mobile County to keep pace with population shifts and increased traffic.
Mobile County’s Pay-As-You-Go program was the first of its kind in the state. The PAYG method of financing road and bridge improvements works with no new taxes and no new debt because funds are collected before the two-year transportation improvement program work begins.
Through the Pay-As-You-Go Transportation Improvement Program, nearly $1 billion has been committed to Mobile County’s roads and bridges since 1977 when voters began directing a 6.5-mil ad valorem assessment in place since 1924 to specifically identified road and bridge projects that are set before voters for approval. Since 1977, voters have approved 684 PAYG projects, which included about 1,500 miles of roadways and 40 bridges.
Examples of completed projects designed and built through Mobile County’s Pay-As-You-Go Transportation Improvement Program include:
- Widening multiple sections of heavily traveled routes like Schillinger Road, Airport Blvd., Cottage Hill Road, Tanner Williams Road, and Zeigler Blvd.
- Constructing seven roundabouts in west and south Mobile County
- Extending Nevius Road to Hillcrest Road
PAYG projects typically average five years from voter approval to completion because of multiple intermediate steps, including design, environmental permitting, right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation, the bid process, and construction.
View Mobile County’s sample ballot for the Nov. 5, 2024 general election at https://probate.mobilecountyal.gov/uploads/SampleBallotGen2024.pdf.
The 2024 proposed program and all Pay-As-You-Go program engineering reports are available at https://www.mobilecountyal.gov/government/departments/pay-as-you-go/.